


The Melody of Your Heart

by KaminariDenki



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Chapter 2 is sad ;-), F/M, Fluff, Just some good ol saimatsu, One Shot, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-08 20:45:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15937949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaminariDenki/pseuds/KaminariDenki
Summary: Kaede teaches Shuichi how to play the piano.





	1. Hope

~~~~Her fingers slid delicately along the keys, every press emitting soft sounds that mixed together to create a beautiful symphony, a harmonious song brought to life by Kaede's artful hands. Her body swayed with every move of her arm, her eyes shut tight, the sheet music forgotten, unneeded and useless.

Shuichi could only stand and gawk in the doorway, his ears assaulted by the loveliest sound he's ever heard, his attentive grey eyes stuck on the blonde pianist who was deaf to everything around her.

He had come searching for her to tell her it was lunchtime, but she looked too peaceful, too enraptured, to interrupt.

So he waited, shuffling his feet awkwardly as the song quieted down, soon ending.

Kaede opened her eyes, her hands moving to rest against her thighs. A light smile rested on her face.

Shuichi quietly cleared his throat, feeling like he was intruding. His hand came up to adjust his hat as he stepped hesitantly over to the blonde. "K-Kaede?"

"Oh! Shuichi, I'm sorry, I didn't notice you," she rubbed the back of her neck and turned to him, magenta eyes bright and cheery.

"Um– It's no problem. I'm sorry for interrupting, you looked like you... we're having a lot of fun," He said, fingers digging nervously into his cap.

Kaede's face lit up and she nodded, cheeks flushing, "Yeah, playing the piano is very fun! I'm not good at making my own songs but I can memorize sheet music. Hey, have you ever played the piano, Shuichi?"

Shuichi blinked. _Has_ he? "M-Me? I don't think I have..."

"I'll teach you then! ...If you want me to, that is..." Her cheeks darkened and her legs fidgeted, hands playing with the hem of her skirt.

"S-Sure," Shuichi mumbled. Kaede scooted over on the bench, patting the spot next to her. He sat down, his muscles tensing when their knees and shoulders brushed.

"Ok! So, how tell which key to press is with the sheet music. For the treble clef, the first note is e," she pressed the e key on the piano. "Then, we have g," she pressed the key beside the previous one. She went through naming all of the keys for the treble clef, then got up.

When she came back, she plopped down a fairly thick book of simple piano songs. She flipped through a few pages before stopping on one labelled Ode to Joy. "Can you play this?"

Shuichi hummed and raised his hand, staring down at the piano, silently thanking whoever made it so that the keys were marked with their appropriate letter. He positioned his hand over the e, ascending the notes until it reached g, pressed that twice then descended to d. His less professional hands played the keys hesitantly, unsure if he was hitting the right notes.

When he finished the song, Kaede clapped and beamed at him, "That was great, Shuichi! You're one step away from becoming the master at piano."

It was a simple praise, but he couldn't help but feel giddy. His lips curved upwards and his heart soared as she smiled at him.

She taught him other easy to play songs and after he was done playing them, she clapped and praised him and he preened at the positive response she was giving him like some eager-to-please child. He felt useful, like he had some other talent, some other hobby than solving murders and mysteries.

Their bonding was interrupted by Kaito, who was standing by the door, a wide grin on his face, "Hey, Shuichi, Kaede! It's lunchtime, you guys gonna join us?"

"Ah– Lunch! That was the reason I came to get you," Shuichi hopped to his feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I must've lost track of time," Kaede chuckled as she followed the two males.

As Shuichi left the room, Kaito clapped him on the back and laughed heartily, shooting him a thumbs up.

"Sorry, Kaito. Um, Kaede was teaching me how to play piano. And uh, I'm sorry we had to cut it short," He sighed, bringing the cap over his eyes.

Kaede patted his shoulder, her hand coming up to shift the hat away from his face, "It's alright, please don't worry about it. It took me years to learn how to play piano this well."

"Could..." He started, his cheeks flaring and his throat dry, "Could we do it again?"

"Sure!" She chirped.

Shuichi smiled, staring down at the ground, elated that he'd be able to spend more time with the pianist. He stumbled forwards as Kaito threw an arm over his shoulders and swiped his hat, holding it up in the air.

"Congrats bro, you just got a date!" The astronaut barked, smirking.

"A-A date!?" Kaede and Shuichi howled in unison, both their faces a deep red.


	2. Despair

Shuichi did as Kaito suggested, he stumbled over to the ultimate pianist's research lab. Kaede had only used it once, but as he stood at the piano key-printed door, his heart ached. Their lesson had lasted a mere one day despite their promise to continue.

He placed his hand on the doorknob, twisting it downwards. He stepped into the room, the musty scent of old paper and polished wood wafted around him as he closed the door behind him. Shuichi stared at the grand piano, his eyes stinging with quickly forming tears.

He slid onto the bench, hands running delicately along the dark, painted wood. It gleamed, his reflection shining on it's surface, his heavy, watery eyes staring back at him. Shuichi shifted his hat down, teeth clenching behind his tight, shut lips. Instead of allowing the cap to rest where it was, covering half of his vision and disabling him from seeing all of the keys properly, he took it off, placing it on his lap.

The brunette raised his hands, placing his fingers on the tips of the white keys. He glanced up at the yellowing sheet notes, reading the title of the page. Clare de Lune. He remembered Kaede said that that song was her favourite.

He hadn't learned how to play it yet, but he steeled himself, determined to make her proud by playing the song she liked the most. He was still an amateur, but the detective persona he had dived into during the class trial broke away, being replaced by his limited knowledge of pianos and how to use them.

As his fingers dipped into the appropriate keys, the gentle tunes mixed together, creating a soft melody that he leaned into. Any mistakes he made were drowned away, his ears hearing only the soothing sounds of the correct keys he pressed.

"Do you hear me, Kaede?" He mumbled, a wetness running down his flushed cheeks, "Can you see what you've taught me, can you hear the emotions I'm putting into this?"

He could almost imagine her plump form seated beside him, hands joining in with his, her body swaying and moving, body translucent like a ghost, not yet passed over to the other side. Not yet ready to leave.

Shuichi smiled, his tears dripping onto his sleeve and his hands and the piano keys and he hunched forwards, his movements halting as he breathed deeply, trying to ease his flaring emotions. It was unprofessional and disrespectful to be crying. 

Shuichi ran his sleeve along his moist face, the dark fabric catching the wayward tears. He looked up at the ceiling, leaning back.

"I'm no good at being a detective, and I'm definitely not good at playing the piano, but... I want to learn, Kaede. I want to know why you were so enthralled by the piano. I want to know what you felt when you were playing it..." He mumbled, hands clenching against the bill of his hat. He flipped it around, readying to plop it onto his head.

"I want to remember you by what you enjoyed to do... I'm going to learn, Kaede. I'm going to play the piano and show you that you're talent is amazing," he stood up, placing the cap on his head. He marched to the door, one of his hands curling into a fiat. As he placed the free hand on the knob, he turned back.

He could nearly see the faint outline of Kaede's body, seated on the bench, her soft magenta eyes meeting his, her lips tucked upwards in a small smile. He tipped his hat up and smiled back at her, but in a blink, she was gone. Shuichi's gaze lingered, but the detective shook his head and left.

He would always remember her. The way her eyes closed when she played, and how her body moved to the rhythm and how quick she was when it came to playing. She was amazing and Shuichi wanted to show her that what she did ever since she was little was a beautiful talent. Even though Kaede may be gone, Shuichi wanted to keep her in his memory, forever.


End file.
